DLF to launch luxury mall Chanakya in September

Hermes will be the flagship brand in the mall like Louis Vuitton at The Emporio. Hermes is currently present in India through its standalone store in Mumbai.Anumeha Chaturvedi | ET Bureau | June 17, 2017, 09:15 IST

NEW DELHI: Luxury brands like Hermes, Versace and Thomas Pink are expanding their presence in India through real estate major DLF’s luxury retail arm. The brands will launch their stores in Chanakya, the new luxury mall which will be launched by the DLF Group in September.

Brands like Brunello Cucinelli will make their India debut through the mall which will be spread over 2 ,50,000 square feet and will house a mix of luxury as well as other bridge-to-luxury brands like Diesel Gold. Other brands opening stores in the mall include Nirav Modi ,Good Earth (luxury edition) and Grassroot by Anita Dongre.

Hermes will be the flagship brand in the mall like Louis Vuitton at The Emporio. Hermes is currently present in India through its standalone store in Mumbai.

"The learnings from DLF Emporio and the evolving definition of luxury including the new luxury experiences desired by the contemporary consumer, is what we are trying to bring at The Chanakya. The inception of DLF Emporio in 2008 offered pure luxury in a retail format to the consumers whereas The Chanakya will be much more vibrant and could be categorized as contemporary luxury. We chose Chanakyapuri as it is in the middle of Lutyens Delhi and caters to the well-heeled neighborhood, tourists, bureaucrats and diplomats of the city," said Sriram Khattar, managing director, rental business at DLF.

Khattar said a typical store size would be 1200-1500 square feet but going down to as low as 500 and going as high as 3000 square feet except the F&B format which will be much larger. Khattar said luxury sales were hit by developments like demonetisation but the market will stabilise.

He said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will especially benefit the luxury sector.

"It will give tax credits and create a stream which will be much more transparent and clearer. Once the GST stabilises, the biggest beneficiary will be consumers on one side and the end of the multiplicity of taxes on the other. The prices will also get rationalised and there will not be double or triple taxation which used to happen earlier when goods moved from one state to the other and from one distributor to the dealer and there was no cross credits available," he said.